Cloud Storage: Keep it in the Cloud

Synchronization firm Syncplicity isannouncing its paid service. It looks like a very similar model to SugarSync’s offer - disappointing because originally it was rumored that they would offer unlimited storage for $20/month.

Any reviews or comments?

HP launched it’s online backup and storage solution Upline earlier this month to some fanfare and significant press coverage - it didn’t take long for it to reveal itself as simply not ready for prime time. TechCrunch got the scoop again and reported on the Upline failures.

Upline was the repackaging of the Titanize service, created by Opelin. The repackaging was great - the interface is slick looking and the demo sure seemed cool. That said, HP will have some explaining to do as to why it chose the Opelin technology (it was quietly acquired last year), as it appears to have failed under the first sign of load. Not the most reassuring debut…

Tell us more…

Marshall Kirkpatrick today reviews the launch of Syncplicity, and the relaunch of AllMyData. Mostly he’s bemoaning Google’s failure to make a foray into the space…

Like the tagline from the brilliant Christopher Guest film, there’s a good reason why some talent remains undiscovered. As much excitement and anticipation as there is around GDrive, I remain skeptical. To offer a consumer product in the way that Google does means integrated advertising, which is a scary prospect when talking about one’s personal files.

The TechCrunch crowd doesn’t appear to agree, as at last check the poll asking readers if they will use it came out at 385 yes, 72 no, and 62 who cares.  There are some interesting comments, with one reader asking for an update on the original online storage gang and another who (correctly) identifies that unlimited storage to many of these companies means whatever is maintained on the host being backed up.

Its clear that there is massive pent-up demand for storage services, but I think its the right product people are waiting for, not a lightining bolt from Mountain View.

Today HP  announced the availability of Upline, yet another storage platform aimed at consumers and small businesses.  The launch is the fruit of their recent “blink and you missed it” acquisition of tiny Opelin, the company behind the now EOLed service Titanize.

The slick demo on the Upline site shows little of the actual product, but we know that the client app is written in .NET, effectively leaving us Mac users out in the cold.  Not entirely surprising given that HP has long been rumored to be in the business of selling Windows computers.

The feature set is promising.  Sharing and publishing features, sorely missing in the Carbonite and Mozy services, are likely to provide a key differentiator beyond the big, trusted company brand advantage.

We’re left wondering if HP’s appetite for SaaS services has been sated.  A little success in getting Upline adoption makes them a likely candidate to roll up one or more of the leading players in the space.

TechCrunch reports that Google will be offering its BigTable system for public use in short order. The implication being that they will also offer other related services that will give Amazon a run for its money and challenge AWS’s early lead in the cloud-computing on demand space.

The comments are interesting too - seems some folks think that Google will be offering everything for free…

USA Today provided coverage of Carbonite’s early success in the online backup space. Interesting note for the other online storage firms - they seem to have had a lot of success marketing their product on the radio. Who knew?

There were also some interesting numbers reported. Carbonite claims 250,000 subscribers and that the average user backs up about 18 GB. Those sounds realistic and reasonable - however, USA Today also mentions that their datacenter manages “3.2 million terabytes” of data. Sorry USA Today, but that is just crazy. For one, it implies that the average user stores 12 TB instead of 18 GB - we’re pretty sure that’s a typo.

Also, it reports that Carbonite has spent about $10 million on radio ads. We assume their spending a lot online too (their ads are all over the paid search and affiliate networks), so it seems like their cost to acquire a user must be somewhere between $40/sub (absolute best) and $80/sub (assuming that the radio budget is 2/3 of their total spend - could they be allocating even more?).

Very interesting…

Anthony Calypso reports that massive accumulation of valuable digital assets is turning consumers on to online storage. He cites Jonathan Steuer, a vice president and general manager for Iconoculture Inc., a Minneapolis-based cultural trend research company who says “consumers are having data storage issues that they’ve never had before … more of their assets are digital (i.e. photo content, MP3 files). As people accumulate more stuff, there is a notion of wanting to protect those [items]. It’s really part of the Web 2.0 world that we’ve seen building for a long time.”

Calypso notes that “Consumers might have an easier time breaking bad habits once they become aware of the online back-up options available today,” and recommends ElephantDrive, Mozy, and Xdrive as solutions.

Pete Cashmore of Mashable posts today about Scribd, the self-described YouTube for documents, and their initiative to convert paper documents to their proprietary iPaper format for a limited time at no cost to their users. This is in addition to the unlimited storage provided for a given set of document types, including popular Microsoft Office, Open Office, and Adobe types. Scribd is certainly to be lauded for their forward thinking, but questions abound.

Are the original documents returned? Scribd notes that they may refuse to scan a document and publish it at their discretion. What is the criteria and what happens then? How do they determine “full legal rights” to the documents that are sent to them?

More information is here. Seems like a service worth watching.

Channel Web ran a story today that went over the recently unveiled SkyDrive from Microsoft. The article was a little harsh, highlighting the problems SkyDrive would present for any enterprise or small business, and including this relatively damning quote:

“After extensive review, not only does the CRN Test Center not recommend SkyDrive, but it would also be advisable for VARs to suggest their clients block its access through content filters.”

Tough, but based on the security/compliance questions, perhaps accurate. This sort of logic flies in the face of the “everything will be free” movement, but might identify a real need in the market…

Phoenix Technologies (Nasdaq: PTEC), a leading maker of firmware, announced their purchase of storage service BeInSync today. BeInSync offers synchronization and online access services to consumers and small businesses and makes use of Amazon’s S3 storage service.

Looks like The Standard scooped the story. They reported a $22M purchase price. Sounds like a steal for Phoenix, if BeInSync’s claim of 4 million users is accurate…

Thoughts?